


A Little Different

by Very_Impractical_Girl



Category: Hereditary (2018)
Genre: Autistic Charlie, Bullying, Comfort, Gen, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Short & Sweet, Sibling Bonding, Sibling Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-01
Updated: 2018-08-01
Packaged: 2019-06-20 06:42:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15528423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Very_Impractical_Girl/pseuds/Very_Impractical_Girl
Summary: Peter gets a chance to bond with Charlie. Just a short sweet thing. First thing I've written in a while so forgive the bad-ness. Spoiler free.I adore Peter and Charlie's bro-sis relationship.





	A Little Different

**Author's Note:**

> A short little thing, I'm planning on writing Hereditary stuff soon.  
> And as a note, yes, some of Charlie's questions lack a question mark. I'm not sure if it's professional, but I felt leaving them out helps to show her emotionless tone of speaking.  
> and yeah, I see Charlie as having Autism. Some demon too, but mainly Autism.

Peter flicked off the television and sighed. There was nothing good on TV and he wasn’t particularly interested in the news. He could hear the familiar sounds of his mother making dinner in the kitchen, and he decided to get up and see what she was making. He could smell the food cooking, whatever it was.

“Hey Mom.” He greeted her casually. She put something back in the fridge.

“Peter, go get your sister will you? Dinner’s almost ready.” 

“Yeah, will do.” He nodded and headed outside. He expected Charlie to be in her treehouse, since he hadn’t heard any “clucking” in the house.

His little sister was definitely...weird. It was plain to see that, but she was still his sister. He honestly got along with her well, even if she didn’t talk all that much, she was a great listener. The air was somewhat muggy as he stepped outside, but it was still slightly better than inside the house.

“Charlie!” He hollered as he approached the tree house. No response. Considering the fact that he was still bored, he decided to go get her directly, and started climbing up the wooden ladder. He hadn’t been inside of the treehouse in a while. 

“Hey Charr...” He called out gently as he looked around the room. He thought he heard something like a sob, which directed his attention to the corner she was in. She sat up, while also inching away.

“What?” She responded quickly and flatly. Her eyes looked a bit Red, and she wiped them quickly with the sleeve of her oversized hoodie.

Concerned, Peter pulled himself completely into the treehouse.

“Whoa, were you crying?”

“No.”

He sat diagonally from her, his feet dangling from the entryway. He gave her a small smile, with a tilt of his head, still a little unsure of what to say.

“Uhh...you sure?” He prodded, hoping she would maybe tell him more.

“I’m fine.”

Awkward silence. 

“What are you doing here Peter...” she asked quietly.

“Ehh, mom’s almost done with dinner, that’s all.” He mumbled, looking to the corner. A stack of papers had caught his eye. Charlie had moved onto the lone wooden square in the treehouse, the only thing in the room that was kinda like a chair. She looked at Peter intently.

“These yours?” He asked, but reached over to grab them on impulse. Charlie’s face slightly showed concern, but she didn’t move from her spot. 

Peter took notice, before looking at the first drawing from the pile. It was crudely drawn, but he could make out a boy in front of what looked to be a slightly cracked window. His eyes were big “X’s” and Peter guessed he was thrown. 

“Who’s this guy getting fucking glocked?” He asked, genuinely curious, showing her the paper. Charlie took no notice of his swearing, but looked horrified at him seeing the drawing. She tried to grab it out of his hands.

“Whoa, chill. I’m not gonna tell mom.” He reassured her. This made him even more curious as he made the connection. “...Is this someone from school?” His voice remained gentle. Charlie looked away with unease.

“I…..don’t know”

Peter nodded. He had a way of reading Charlie, and to him that was an indirect ‘yes’. He frowned slightly, wanting to ask if anyone was messing with his little sister. She spoke before he had the chance to think of how to ask.

“I wish I was a normal girl.”

Peter just blinked, slightly stunned a bit, but the statement confirmed his suspicion. He inched closer.

“Heyy, you’re a normal girl.” He blurted out, even though he knew she was definitely…..different. Charlie seemed to know this as well, as she gave him a slightly annoyed look, not believing him in the slightest. It dampened his mood a bit.

“I mean...even if you’re not like other kids, that doesn’t mean-”

“Peter, what’s a dyke”

_What._

“They...called you that?” He asked, a little shocked.

“Not directly, but I heard it.” She responded, leaning over and grabbing a few papers. She handed Peter some of her other drawings. He smiled as he took them, she was opening up a little. He didn’t know how to answer her question though.

“Uhh, I’ll tell you when you’re older.”

“I’m 13.” She huffed. A quick clucking sound followed.

Peter paused, trying to think of the best way to explain this. This wasn’t a topic his family ever discussed, or came across. He hoped his parents would know better, but he wasn’t sure.

“It...uhh, it means a girl who likes other girls… _‘like-like’_ ”. He didn’t include that it specifically meant a girl who looked or acted like a guy, mainly since he didn’t want her to feel bad about how she looked.

Charlie just blinked.

“Um…..Why is that an insult.” She murmured, hesitating at first. Her eyes glanced over at him, somewhat fearful as she waited for his answer.

“I dunno... Some people don’t like it or something.” He told her, starting to thumb through her drawings. “I mean, there’s nothing wrong with it, I’m ok with it, people are dumb I guess-” Charlie seemed to relax a little at his response, but still kept her eyes on him.

He was looking through her drawings now. One was of a squirrel, detailed, but still in her sketchy style. It’s tail was very bushy. Peter had to smile at it’s bulging eyes. The next page had a turtle, with lots of patterns on it’s shell. Her drawing of an owl caught Peter’s attention the most. It’s feathers were made up of different shapes, and it reminded him of those “relaxing" coloring books. Part of him really admired the creativity of his little sister. He turned the paper towards her.

“I really like Mr. Owl-” He began, but immediately his heart dropped a bit. Charlie looked as though she was about to burst into tears. “Whoa, what’s wrong?”

“It’s ugly and I hate it.” She whimpered, suddenly unable to restrain herself. She lowered her head in attempt to hide her fresh tears. “They’re all ugly. Like me.”

Peter suddenly felt a rising rage at whoever was bullying his little sister, but didn’t show it. Charlie kept her head down as he knelt in front of her. 

“Hey, Charlie.” He told her firmly. “You better not believe that. Whoever said that was a dick.” 

She awkwardly glanced to the opening of the treehouse. “Dick” wasn’t a word she heard very often. She _thought_ she knew what it meant...

“Your drawings are great! I love them!” Peter put both his hands on her shoulders, slightly shaking her to get his point across. She slowly lifted her head up, her face still slightly puffy.

“Why...”

“Because you’re so creative! I bet the kid in your class is jealous of you!” He affirmed and gave her a smile as he said this, hoping it would improve her mood. She looked at him.

“Mm...Maybe...” She murmured, but her eyes appeared grateful. Peter was trying to get a smile out of her. She didn’t budge from her serious demeanor. 

“I think you should hang Mr. Owl on the wall in your room.” He suggested. Charlie just shrugged. Still no smile. Peter decided to resort to force. Since his hands were still on her shoulders, he took the opportunity.

“Hahaha stop!” She yelled as Peter suddenly ticked her neck. She shoved him and he didn’t object, because her mood seemed slightly better. He gave Charlie a quick hug before her smile left, since he knew she’d go back to her serious look within minutes. Very lightly, she hugged him back.

“...Thanks...”

“You two coming in for dinner?” Both of them looked down as their mother’s voice came from outside. Oh yeah. Dinner.

“Yeah Mom, we’re coming...” Peter hollered back, as they both got up. As they went down the treehouse ladder, Charlie was already back to her deadpan look. She let out a few clucks on the way into the house.

Peter knew she was feeling better.


End file.
